To have dominion
I will write about this more when I have more time, but I would like to at least raise the subject of one of the most prominent characteristics of American culture and American history - that of the need for primacy, for control, for dominion over others. This need is not in any sense normal or ordinary, but a pathological need, borne out of an insecurity that is also at the root of the nation's history.
This land was settled by people desperate for a new life, and a great many died in the effort just to reach the shores of "The New World." The precariousness of life was faced by great effort, but also by a history of eliminating any perceived threat to persons' or society's survival: indigenous tribes, alien religious beliefs, unruly slaves, disease, cold, economic instability.
What is being played out in Iraq and at home is an at times hysterical need to have dominion over others. It isn't enough in Iraq to invade the country and destroy its infrastructure. The people must be subjugated. Thus, a massive terror campaign of bombing, pillaging of cities like Fallujah and Najaf, and more to come.
Here at home, we have the Bush "mandate." Bush and his cronies in the Congress, the Judiciary, the various bureaus of government, and the corporate power structure will likely try to enact a police state along with a movement towards some form of economic feudalism. The main problem they face is that their agenda is spent. They can only hope that the power of propaganda will be great enough to push their plans through. This will be increasingly difficult, due to what I call the decreasing marginal returns to criminality. It will take bigger lies, bigger secrecy, bigger sleight-of-hand, and bigger religious flim-flammery to achieve smaller results. As Global Warming becomes more serious, it will take bigger denial to pretend it does not exist. As the symbiosis with phony "Christianity" intensifies, it will take bigger and more grandiose bluster to sell the latest schemes. Maybe they can bring in Reverend Moon himself to be the "Messiah." Though this criminal gang is not going to be fun, fun may be had as they head to their inevitable downfall.
This land was settled by people desperate for a new life, and a great many died in the effort just to reach the shores of "The New World." The precariousness of life was faced by great effort, but also by a history of eliminating any perceived threat to persons' or society's survival: indigenous tribes, alien religious beliefs, unruly slaves, disease, cold, economic instability.
What is being played out in Iraq and at home is an at times hysterical need to have dominion over others. It isn't enough in Iraq to invade the country and destroy its infrastructure. The people must be subjugated. Thus, a massive terror campaign of bombing, pillaging of cities like Fallujah and Najaf, and more to come.
Here at home, we have the Bush "mandate." Bush and his cronies in the Congress, the Judiciary, the various bureaus of government, and the corporate power structure will likely try to enact a police state along with a movement towards some form of economic feudalism. The main problem they face is that their agenda is spent. They can only hope that the power of propaganda will be great enough to push their plans through. This will be increasingly difficult, due to what I call the decreasing marginal returns to criminality. It will take bigger lies, bigger secrecy, bigger sleight-of-hand, and bigger religious flim-flammery to achieve smaller results. As Global Warming becomes more serious, it will take bigger denial to pretend it does not exist. As the symbiosis with phony "Christianity" intensifies, it will take bigger and more grandiose bluster to sell the latest schemes. Maybe they can bring in Reverend Moon himself to be the "Messiah." Though this criminal gang is not going to be fun, fun may be had as they head to their inevitable downfall.
posted by John Hamilton | 6:45 PM
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